ACLJ Signs Pro-Life Letter Demanding the FDA Seize and Shut Down Illegal Abortion Drug Websites

Black-market websites are illegally selling unregulated abortion pills in the United States, and we are taking action demanding the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shut down this illicit and dangerous activity.

Recently, on behalf of the ACLJ, I signed on to an important letter to Commissioner of the Food & Drug Administration Dr. Stephen Hahn. This letter urges the FDA to seize the website domains for AidAccess, Rablon, and any other entities illegally prescribing and/or selling abortion-inducing drugs in the United States and to further investigate their practices. This action would be similar to how the FDA acted in December 2019 to protect Americans from websites selling illicit vaping cartridges.

These companies are putting women at risk by providing them with abortion-inducing drugs that have not met with the FDA’s regulatory requirements. The FDA already sent these companies warning letters over a year ago stating that their websites were in violation of U.S. law. Yet, they remain active and continue to dispense abortion-inducing drugs through shady internet prescriptions that are purportedly filled by pharmacies in India then shipped to customers in the U.S.

In warning letters last year, the FDA stated that both of these companies “cause the introduction into interstate commerce of misbranded and unapproved new drugs.” The FDA warned that failure to correct these violations could result in seizure or injunction.

The only FDA-approved regimen for drug-induced abortion is Mifeprex and its recently approved generic (otherwise known as mifepristone, RU486, or the “morning after pill”) used in combination with misoprostol. The FDA requires Mifeprex to be subjected to a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) protocol in order to be dispensed. This protocol is meant to ensure that the drugs are only available under the supervision of a certified prescriber at a healthcare facility rather than via retail outlets or the Internet.

As stated in the letter we signed onto, “these requirements also protect women and unborn children from predators who would force or trick pregnant women into taking Mifeprex.” Unfortunately, internet access to these illicit abortion-inducing drugs has enabled these crimes to happen.

AidAccess and websites within Rablon’s network, including abortionrx.com, abortionpills247.com, and nopregnancy.net, continue to flagrantly subvert the REMS guidelines by marketing mifepristone to U.S. customers.

The letter informs the FDA that, “The Website Plan C, which provides a report card ranking the “best” sources for obtaining abortion-inducing drugs online, states that at least three of their highest ranked resources appear to ship from within the U.S., all within Rablon’s network.” We urge the FDA to investigate the source of these drugs distributed by these websites.

Finally, the letter applauds the FDA for its ongoing enforcement actions saying, “[W]e appreciate that the FDA is seriously defending the necessary safeguards contained in the Mifeprex REMS in litigation. These safeguards are meaningless, however, if opportunistic entities can sell abortion-inducing drugs over the internet with impunity. We urge the FDA to act now to stop this predatory and dangerous practice.”

I signed on to this letter because at the ACLJ we believe in defending every life, including the precious life of the mother and the unborn child. Dangerous practices like the ones these companies are engaging in can be very harmful to mothers and unborn babies. The FDA must act now to seize these website domains and to stop these blatantly illicit activities from happening.